“So,” he asks me as we eat, “got any plans for the rest of the weekend?”
“Asking me out on another date already?”
He chuckles. “I wish. Unfortunately, today and tomorrow are pretty packed for me. The beginning and the end of semesters always are—and the middle, now that I’m thinking about it. Midterms and such.”
“Sounds like you’re always busy.”
“Yes and no. I’m used to it by now. I do want to take you out again, but I’m not sure when it’ll be.” He shoots me a sly look and a half grin that makes me bite my bottom lip in anticipation. “Guess you’ll just have to keep your schedule open for me.”
The only thing I can say to that is, “I guess so.”
“Tell me if I’m prodding, but,” he pauses and takes a sip from his mug, “are there any boys I should be worried about? Boys who might try to steal you from me? Or girls, I suppose.”
“No girls,” I say quickly, although I’m not nearly as fast about the other part of his questioning. Obviously, my mind goes straight to Logan, who I’m desperately trying not to think about right now. I wouldn’t say that Logan could steal me away from Reese, but… I’d also be lying if I say I’m not affected by that jerk, even after everything he did.
Or didn’t do.
Reese nods once. “Okay, no girls to worry about. What about boys, then? You seem awfully quiet. You have a boy in mind?”
Is he a jealous sort? If he is, he’s giving off Logan vibes. Maybe I do have a type. That said, I don’t necessarily want to bring Logan up to him right now, so I settle for shrugging and telling him, “No. There aren’t any boys. None that really care.” I hate how depressed I sound when I say it, and I hope he doesn’t notice.
But he does, and he reaches a hand toward me and says, “Anyone who doesn’t care about you isn’t worth your time or your thoughts. However, if you want to give me a name, I can see to it that whoever it is will disappear and never bother you again.”
He says it like a joke, and that’s how I take it. I laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”
I finish up eating, and by the time we’re both done, it’s well past ten in the morning. Time to get home. I get dressed, and Reese does the same. He drives me home, and before I get outof his car, he reaches for me and leans over the center console to kiss me.
Now that I know what his lips feel like on mine, I’m prepared, and I’m ready to kiss him back. It’s still a weird thing, to kiss someone other than my ex or Logan, but I can’t complain one bit. Kissing him helps me forget everything I’d rather not think about. It’s like a superpower.
“I had so much fun,” he says when he pulls away.
“Me too.”
“Hopefully I get some free time soon, because I don’t know if I can wait long to see you again,” he tells me in a bare whisper, still leaning close, his breath hot on my face.
Mike never said things like that to me. Is that normal for a guy to say, or is Reese just in his own league? I don’t know, but it makes me feel good, knowing he wants to see me again and that, until the day comes, he’ll be dying inside.
Makes me feel wanted, craved. I never got that with Mike. I got it with Logan, but it was full of the push and pull around that feeling, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that I don’t want the push and pull of a relationship like that.
“Well, I’ll be here,” I say lamely, and I’m thankful that I’m able to get out of the car afterwards, because out of everything I could’ve told him,that’swhat I went with? I hate myself sometimes. Me and the wordcoolare never in the same sentence together, for reasons that should be clear to anyone who spends more than five seconds with me.
I wave to him, and I watch as he pulls out of the driveway before I head to the house. The moment I step inside, Sloane is waiting for me in the kitchen. Though she looks uninterested—the normal expression she wears on her face—she still asks me about my date.
“How’d it go? I take it by your late arrival this morning you had a fun time with Mr. Sexy Professor?” It’s a darn good thing Elias isn’t nearby, otherwise she’d get a hard glare after that one.
“It was good.”
My short and sweet answer isn’t enough for her. She folds her arms over her chest and cocks her head at me. “Just good? If it was only good, I don’t think the date would’ve lasted all night. I’d say it was more than good.”
I blush. “Okay, it was amazing.” I walk past her, heading to the stairs, and she follows me. Together, we go to my room, where she plops herself down on my bed.
“How was he?”
If I wasn’t already blushing, that blunt question would have set me on fire. I can’t even look at her for a few seconds after that, mostly because I can’t believe she asked that particular question. Is that something friends talk about, or is it a Sloane thing?
“Oh, come on, don’t be a prude,” she says, as if it’s a simple question with an equally simple answer. I suppose to some people it might be like that, but to me…
No. New year, new me, right? If Sloane wants to know how he was, then I’ll tell her. It isn’t like I have any other friends. If it’ll satisfy her curiosity, then why not? It isn’t like she’s going to run and tell my parents that I hooked up with one of my professors.
